Lubricated rocker arm



P. P A N K l E LUBRICATED ROCKER ARM Filed NOV. 12. 1931 Patented Dec. 27, 1932 EDELBERT JOHN KNAPP, F NORTON, KANSAS LUBRICATED ROCKER ARM Application filed November 12; 1931. Serial No. 574,657.

My invention relates to rocker arms and particularly to rocker arms having means for lubricating all of the bearings of the rocker arm. One object of the invention is the provision of a rocker arm having an upper surface so designed that the movements of the rocker arm will carry the lubricant to all of the bearings.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means actuated by the rocker arm for elevating the lubricant to be discharged on the upper surface of the rocker arm.

It is also my object to provide a novel form of mechanism for lifting the lubricant from the lubricant receptacle to the upper surface of the rocker arm.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in the following description, I will now refer to the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing the rocker arm with its lubricant channels and showing also the mechanism for lifting .i the lubricant to the upper surface of the rocker arm.

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section of the lubricant lifting mechanism, a fragment of the rocker arm being also shown in section.

The rocker arm has two shafts 11 and 12. In my construction the shaft 11 is the fixed shaft about which the rocker arm oscillates while the shaft 12 is at the free end of the rocker arm to move up and down during the oscillations of the rocker arm. As far as the present construction is concerned, however, the arrangement may be reversed so that the rocker arm will oscillate about a fixed axis of the shaft 12.

Intermediate the shafts 11 and 12 is a dethe rocker arm and by a closed wall 15 surrounding the aperture 16. This depression 13 communicates with the channels 17 leading .to the bearings of the shaft 11 and with the 0 channels 18 leading to the bearings of the pression 13 bounded by the raised walls 14 of tance above an oil bath such as shown at 19. A conduit 20 is seated within this oil bath and a second conduit 21 is positioned in the conduit20 to slide up and down therein. The conduit 21 is provided with a head 22 which normally rests on the upper surface of the flange 15. It is obvious that the rocking movements of the rocker arm will cause the head 22 to rise and fall carrying with it the entire conduit 21. The conduits 20 and 21 are provided with apertures 23 and 24 in their lower ends and these apertures are controlled through ball valves 25 and 26 respectively. It will be apparent that when the conduit 21 moves downwardly the aperture 24 will be open but the aperture 23 will be closed by the ball valve 25 due to the downward pressure within the conduit 20. On the other hand, when the conduit 21 is moving upwardly the aperture 23 will be open but the aperture 24 will be closed due to the weight of the lubricant within the conduit 20. The recipro cation of the conduit 21 will therefore cause the movement of the lubricant upward in that conduit to be discharged over the upper surface of the head 22 into the depression 13 where it will be carried to all of the bearings of the rocker arm during the rocking movements of the rocker arm.

The operation depends, of course, very largely on the weight and the viscosity of the lubricant. This lubricant has a normal level in the oil bath as shown in Figure 2 and it tends to maintain the same level in the cylinder 20 and in the piston 21. The only factor 8 to disturb this tendency is the use of'the two ball valves 25 and 26. The cylinder 20 has a loose relation at its point of suspension as shown in Figure 2 and the piston 21 has a loose sliding relation within the cylinder 20. In the former of these two the oil level can not be disturbed by the piston 21 since the loose relation permits the admission of the air to the surface of the body of oil in the oil bath to provide the necessary atmospheric pressure for the proper operation of my device. The space between the piston 21 and the cylinder 20 readily becomes filled with oil having the necessary viscosity. Even though some oil might be discharged over til ' straight line.

the top edge of the cylinder 20, that oil would drain back into the oil bath but it would not disturb the operation of the pump as a whole.

mouth of the piston 21 and over the convex surface of the head 22. The quantity of oil thusoozing out is very small'bu't only an exceedingly small quantity is required for lubricating the bearings of the rocker arm.

My rocker arm with 1ts lubr catlon system should not be confused with those rocker arms Which either operate entirely within the lubricant or which dip into the lubricant during the rocking movements. hIy rocker 7 arm is positioned entirely above the lubricant where it does not come into direct contact with the lubricating material in the oil bath. This material must be elevated to reach the rocker arm and for this purpose I employ the pumping device as above described. The lubricant is thus carried slowly and steadily to the surface of the head 22' from which it flows down into-the depressed portion 13 of the rocker arm. It should also .be noted that this depressed portion is between the two ends of the rocker arm rather than at one end thereof. The result is that the motion of the rocker arm in one direction carries the lubricant from the depressed'por 1 tion 13 to one pair of bearings while move-- 'ment of the rocker arm in the other dlreotlon carries the lubricant to the other bearings. If an excess of lubricant is carried to the bear ings, the surplus will drip back directly into the oil bath.

The path of the free extremity of therocker arm is not in a straight line but it is rather in the form of an arc. To some extent this would affect the movement of the conduit 21 1 although the size of the opening 16 is such as to permit vertical movement of the conduit 21 even though the free end of the rocker arm has an arcuate path. In machines of this type, however, the vibration is often such that the conduit 21 can not always move in a.

For this reason the conduit 20.

is suspended as shown in Figure 2 so that it is permitted to rock ments which will not interfere with the sliding movements of the conduit 21.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily unin derstood by others skilled in the art to which i The conduit 21 of course will partake of the same rocking'moveit pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: 1

1. A rocker arm positioned above an oil bath and out of direct contact therewith, fixed and movable bearings at opposite extremities of said rocker arm, the free extreinity of said rocker arm describingan ar'cuate path "intersecting a horizontal line through said fixed bearing, saidrocker arm being provided'withanaperture intermediate its ex- 'tremitie's, means for conducting lubricant to the uppersurface of said rocker arm at a I point intermediate the extremities thereof, said means including a tubular member loosely suspended within the oil bath and having its upper portion extending above the ;sur-' face of the '0il,fla hollow piston slidable-in said tubular member and projecting'through the aperture in said rocker arm, said tubular member and said hollow piston being'each provided with valves for retarding the "reverse fiow of oil therein,-a head onsaid hol i I 7 aperture intermediate the extremities thereof,

a hollow piston having free-sliding 'move ment through the aperture of saidrocker'" arm,-said piston terminating at its upper extremity a head adapted to rest against theupper surface-of said rocker arm sur rounding the aperturethereof, said head having a convex upper surface, a cylinder loosely suspended with. its lower "portion withinthe oil bath, and valves in the'lower extremities of said hollow piston and said cyl-1 inder, the arrangement being such that the oil oozesoutthrough' the top ofisaid hollow piston and over the convex surface of said head when said piston iscarried downwardly by-its weight and the weight of the oil con tained therein.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

'EDELBERT JOHN 'KNAPP; 7 g 

